In the United States, politics and scandal seem to go hand in hand. For much of American history the only aspect of disgraceful public sector behavior that changed was the media’s gradual process of reporting conduct that was previously discreetly ignored. For the better part of two centuries, mistresses, substance abuse, and domestic dysfunction remained off limits by gentleman’s agreement. Corruption involving bribery and conflicts of interest also was deemed an integral part of the Washington political environment that only got reported if it reached outrageous or blatant dimensions.
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With the advent of Watergate and the increasingly tabloid nature of the American media, suddenly political scandal became the most emphasized aspect of the public sector. However, although individuals like Monica Lewinsky and Scooter Libby became household names, other scandalous antics flew under the radar. Only the most salacious or embarrassing situations became the obsessive focus of the entire media. Just because behavior was not widely reported in the mainstream media didn’t mean that equally outrageous or unethical behavior did not occur. Frequently, transgressions that were subtle or not easily understood by the public escaped scrutiny or failed to spark widespread outrage.
The digital age and a change in the business of media occurred long after some of the most bizarre and corrupt American political scandals were perpetrated. From the very first days of the US Government, prominent men have engaged in the same types of conduct that currently fascinate and outrage the American people.
13. Warren Harding’s Presidential Love Child
It’s hard to believe that Warren Harding jammed as much scandal as he did into one of the shortest Presidential tenures in history. Harding’s administration is known for “The Teapot Dome Scandal” which sent his Secretary of the Interior to jail, the first cabinet member ever to go to prison, a continuation of the utter corruption that marked his previous Senatorial career. But Harding didn’t confine himself to political misbehavior. He conducted numerous affairs, including one with a twenty year old girl named Nan Britton that he deflowered in a New York hotel. Harding would continue his relationship with this women, having sex with her on his Senatorial office couch.
Britton would eventually become pregnant with Harding’s child, a child he acknowledged by providing financial support during his lifetime. This support allowed Harding to continue his relationship with Nan Britton, allowing for intimacy in a closet off of the Oval Office, among other places. The younger woman wasn’t the only female interest in Harding’s life, he conducted numerous other documented affairs with various other women. It seems the only woman that Harding had no interest in was his wife, Florence. Of her he said: “there isn’t one iota of affection in my home relationship. … It is merely existence, necessary for appearance’s sake.”
Warren Harding died in the Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California allegedly from a heart attack on August 2, 1923. Because his wife refused to allow an autopsy and had him immediately embalmed, his death has always been suspicious. Unfortunately for Nan Britton, Florence Harding cut off any support and denied any connection between her husband and Nan’s daughter. Claiming that she was broke and had no other recourse, Nan wrote a book entitled “The President’s Daughter,” revealing her relationship and the identity of Harding’s daughter. She was viciously excoriated but ultimately DNA tests conducted on her ancestors and the Harding family almost 100 years later proved that Nan Britton’s child was fathered by Warren Harding.
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